Smart Freight Centre Releases Industry-Standard GHG Calculation Method for Ro-Ro Shipping

Amsterdam, March 26 - Smart Freight Centre (SFC) hosted the official Global Ro-Ro Community stakeholders’ meeting during its annual flagship event, Smart Freight Week, in Amsterdam on March 18. Global stakeholders involved in the transportation of finished vehicles by sea came together to launch the standard methodology for scope 3 Greenhouse Gas emissions accounting for deep-sea Ro-Ro shipping.

GRC sfw 25 (crop)

Smart Freight Centre (SFC) has published the Deep-Sea Ro-Ro Ship Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensity Calculation Methods, marking a significant milestone a year after launching the Global Ro-Ro Community (GRC). This initiative brings together both deep-sea and short-sea Ro-Ro operators, collectively representing nearly 80% of global car equivalent unit (CEU) capacity.

The launch of this methodology represents a major step toward utilizing ship-specific primary data to calculate emission intensity factors based on an unified approach. These factors will be used by cargo owners, particularly original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to improve Scope 3 emissions accounting.

Open for Public Consultation

The final methodology is now open for public consultation until April 11, 2025. It was presented at Smart Freight Week by SFC and key representatives from the GRC.

During the session:

  • Yohei Mozumi (NYK Line) outlined the history and background of the GRC.
  • Jorgen Thorsen (Wallenius Wilhelmsen) explained the methodology’s key principles.
  • Joonyohan Lee (Hyundai Glovis) detailed how ship-specific voyage legs are assigned to global and regional trade lanes.
  • Kanu Jain (Smart Freight Centre) presented the calculation methodology in detail.
  • Yuki Ikawa (MOL Group) demonstrated how cargo owners can calculate Scope 3 emissions using the emission intensity factors, which will be published in Q4 2025.
  • Third-party verifiers represented by Benjamin Witt (DNV) and Vikrant Sharma (ClassNK) explained to the audiences how the process of verification of ship-specific data could look like.

Industry-Wide Collaboration

Organizations already participating in this initiative also include Eastern Car Liner, Höegh Autoliners, UECC, Neptune Lines, and Gold Star Line Ltd. Several other shipping companies are in the final phase of joining this industry-wide sustainability effort.

Andrea Schoen, Director of Aviation and Maritime at Smart Freight Centre, emphasized the impact of the new methodology, saying “This methodology paves the way for using primary data in Scope 3 emission accounting, enhancing transparency and accuracy—both crucial for regulatory and voluntary reporting.”

This methodology launch marks a major milestone for this initiative which completes its phase 1 and enters phase 2 where the focus will be on the collection and processing of vessel level primary data to generate emission intensity factors (emissions per transport work) for major global and regional trade routes.

Smart Freight Centre encourages global OEMs and cargo owners as well as non-participating carriers and other stakeholders to get involved in this important initiative that will shape the future of emissions accounting of deep-sea Ro-Ro trade.

Please contact SFC’s Senior Technical Manager kanu.jain@smartfreightcentre.org for any inquiries.

About Smart Freight Centre

Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is a globally active non-profit organization for climate action in the freight sector. Our goal is to mobilize the global logistics ecosystem, in particular our members and partners, in tracking and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. We accelerate the reduction of logistics emissions to achieve a zero-emission global logistics sector by 2050 or earlier, consistent with 1.5° pathways. www.smartfreightcentre.org

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